Of Freckles and Silver
by Paper Lilly Webs
Summary: Series of SolKat oneshots about Book Nerd Sollux and Blonde KK. I've already written quite a few, in no chronological order (except for the first, 'cause that's, well, the first). I'll keep the ones I've already uploaded as stand-alones, so I don't lose your guy's wonderful reviews, but they'll all be compiled here. T for swearing throughout, friendship for lack of a better one.
1. Freckles

**A/B**: OOC Warning: KK is a little OOC, reasons for such are in the bottom Author's Note.

* * *

_Sollux_

Books are my best friends, and I full-heartedly accept that fact. Why would I want to hang around douchebags when I could be in Camelot with King Arthur, or the Underworld with Odysseus, or Denmark with Hamlet? Nah, real people have never interested me, and I'm quite content with my copy of Shakespeare's plays, thank you very much.

An autumn breeze plays with my black hair, the scent of waning summer filling the air around me. Red and gold leaves dance across the sidewalk my feet rest on, and tease the brown grass on either side of the bench I'm on. A group of people my age are playing basketball in the court in front of me, their shouting certainly very distracting.

Some kid makes a basket, eliciting a chorus of cheers, and makes me raise my eyes from my book. I'm not all happy to be interrupted whilst reading Merchant of Venice, and debate moving benches to another, quieter, section of the park.

Then I see him, the boy bending easily around his companions. He has a mass of gold-blonde hair, is wearing a blue tank top and cargo shorts, and is seemingly gliding over the court. He has the ball, twisting in and out if the hands of the opposing team, and his movements are almost... graceful. He ducks under the arm of another blonde kid with dark shades, then leaps off his toes and makes the shot.

Something tells me he never misses.

He catches his own rebound and flies back down the court before coming back around to take another shot.

During this jump, sunlight peeking out of the thin cloud-layer catches his bare shoulders and nose, revealing a chaotic mess of freckles. Good lord, they're everywhere. He's undeniably pale, so I don't think he gets much sun, and therefore he's one of those people who just has a natural explosion of the spots. I've never seen someone with so many on their shoulders though, and this interests me greatly.

I find myself watching the boy, my book laying forgotten in my lap. He moves like a fierce lightning, but as soft as a whisper he passes and catches the ball, his team gladly letting him shoot. His team is like a wall, keeping the opposers from getting anywhere near the centerline and they move like a well-oiled machine. It makes me wonder how much time these kids spend playing basketball. The blonde boy scores another basket, another loud cheer erupting from his team.

I only realize I'm staring when they start a new game, and, as they line up again, the blond boy's eyes fall on me. I jolt and quickly look away, prying to god he hasn't seen me.

Instead of looking up again when the new game starts, I reset myself to reading, ignoring the little flippy jig my stomach is doing. I wasn't expecting his eyes to be platinum gray, almost silver. Is it even possible to have eyes like that? Surely they were contacts...

"Look out!" Not given time to react, I feel a hard object collide with my head full-force, knocking me completely off the bench and onto the slightly-damp sidewalk.

"Holy fuck, are you alright?!" Through blurred vision, I see the freckled boy jump over the fence and quickly jog over to me. I slowly sit up, rubbing the spot on my head where the basketball had hit me. "Dude, you okay?" He offers down his hand to me, and I hesitate before taking it. His skin is calloused and rough, but not wholly unpleasant.

"I-I'm fine." I assure him, though I'd probably have a bruise later.

The boy picks up my fallen book and hands it to me, smiling apologetically. Up close, he has even _more_ freckles, and they accent his pale skin nicely.

"Dude, sorry about that. Equius doesn't know his own strength." He jerks his perfectly shaped chin to a tall boy with a pony-tail and broken shades.

"It'th alright. I gueth I'm kind of in the splath zone." He laughs at that, a simple, hearty laugh that causes my stomach to flip again.

"That you are!"

"Karkat, get the ball already!" One of his friends call to him, and grins before waving over his shoulder. The he turns back to me.

"You wanna join the game? We have room for one more player."

"Heh, no thankth. I don't do thporth." He shrugs good-naturedly.

"You're choice. Oh, I'm Karkat, by the way." He holds out his hand again, and I shake it a little timidly.

"Thollux." Fuck, talk about butchering your own name.

"Nice to meet you, Sollux. Well, I should go back." He picks up the ball that landed a few feet away from us, and throws me another grin before rejoining his friends, leaving me feeling bubbly, but so very lonely.

* * *

_Karkat_

"Vantas, you can't flirt with every guy that throws you a glance. You'd never have time for flirting _us_." Is Dave's greeting as I jump back over the fence into the basketball court.

Instead of responding seriously, I chuck the ball at his face, narrowly missing his "oh-so-precious" shades.

"We can't _all_ be as cool as you, Dave. Not every word I speak to a guy is an attempt to flirt. And, really, who besides Egderp would want to flirt with _you_?" We resume our game, laughter accompanying my remark.

Three games later, we're all taking a break, lounging around different places on the court. I sit next to Gamzee, my self-proclaimed best friend, both of us leaning against the cross-wire fence nearest the park bench where Sollux had previously been. I saw him leave about an hour ago, taking his Shakespeare book with him.

I'd never let anyone know it, but I also had a copy, and felt a wave of respect for the guy for reading it in public.

"Bro, you liked him." I glance over at Gamzee, who is watching me with his lopsided, all-knowing grin.

"What?"

"The dude from before. You were totally into him." There's seriously no way to hide things from Gamzee. He sees right through any lie you try to feed him, even Rose's utterly stoic ones.

I snerk, leaning my head back to watch the gray clouds moving overhead.

"And if I was?" He laughs his weird, honk-like laugh, ruffling my mop of straw-blonde hair.

"And nothin'. I'm happy for ya, bro." Yeah, happy for me why? I'd barely spoken to the kid; and I'm almost positive he isn't gay. "Bro, he was totally gay." Gamzee says, as if reading my mind.

"Yeah, how'd you figure?"

"Bro, he was watching you play. You should have seen the look on his face-" I snort.

"Gamzee, you're imagining things." He's probably about to make some snarky remark, but is interrupted by the entrance of his boyfriend, Tavros.

Said boy wheels over to us, his timid grin on display as Gamzee gets happily to his feet to greet him half-way. I roll my eyes and look away from the sloppy makeouts about to occur, letting my mind wander.

He _had_ been watching. I'd felt someone watching me the entire game, and when I looked over at him, he was blushing like fuck. Unless he'd been watching someone like Dave, who's just as good at basketball as me.

But Sollux had been blushing when I was talking to him too. Was it from his tumble to the ground, or was it like mine, realizing that he was cute as fuck? He'd had heterochromatic eyes, hidden behind weird multi-color glasses. One was azure blue, the other a kind of burgundy red. I've never seen such a combination of colors, but it's far from unattractive. On the contrary, it makes him strangely alluring.

Well, fuck. One encounter is enough to completely fuck up my thought processes and make me regret being gay. You'd think after six years of being gay, I'd have have gotten used to cute guys, but something about Sollux was... different?

Fuck. Fuck his stupidly cute face, fuck his stupidly endearing smile, and fuck myself for being as transparent as fuck. Fuck it all to hell, and take me along with it, because this is all fucking stupid, and I really wish Kanaya would stop smiling at me like she fucking knows everything.

Fucking stupid gay friends.

* * *

_Sollux_

When I made my way back to the park the next day, I was not expecting to see Karkat again.

Coming to the park is a normal activity for me, and I had planned on finding a different bench further away from the basketball court, but my path is blocked by the horde of people I guess Karkat calls his friends. They're walking in the opposite direction, so I lightly step off the path to avoid walking into them, and spy Karkat at the front of the group, laughing between a tall boy with curly black hair and a girl with freaky red sunglasses.

I avoid eye contact with any of them, shoving my hands and my book into the pockets of my jacket; it's gotten significantly colder since yesterday, and even Karkat's group of friends are wearing gloves and hats. I keep walking, towards a bench a little ways away from yesterday's, and would have made it there too, if it is not for the shout from behind me.

I turn, to be greeted to the glorious sight of Karkat in skinny jeans and a tight sweater. It's a big jump from his tanktop last time, but he has the same freckly grin and shining silver eyes as then too.

"Hey, Sollux." He comes to a halt in front of me, and I notice his friends pausing to watch us before moving on, as if they had expected their blonde friend to abandon them.

"Um, hello." Is all I can manage, though you'd think with all the reading I've done, I'd have a much wider vocabulary.

"I didn't expect you to come here again; most people just come once." I shrug, fighting back the blush I know is starting to creep up from my neck to my cheeks.

"I like thith park. It'th quiet." Quiet when there aren't twenty people playing basketball ten feet in front of you.

I turn my book over in my hands nervously, awaiting his response.

"Which one?" I look up at that, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Which one what?" He smiles again, laughing.

"Which play are you reading? I saw you had the collection yesterday." Oh god, he knows it was Shakespeare.

"Um, yethterday, I wath reading the Merchant of Venithe."

"I haven't read that one. Is it good?" I honestly can't tell if he's teasing me or not, so I shrug again. "Oh, not your favorite. What _is_ your favorite then? I'm rather partial to Love Labors Lost, but that's just me." Well, of he knows _that_ one, I think it's safe to assume he knows the rest.

"Hamlet ith my favorite." I eventually respond, concentrating on not letting my eyes stray from the trees behind him.

Based on this fluttery squirming my stomach is feeling, looking him in the face would probably be the death of me. No matter how many guys I've been interested in since I realized I was gay, holding a conversation with them is still uncomfortable as fuck.

Or, you know, I'm just exceedingly antisocial.

"Mm, I've never been one for the tragedies."

"Um, thouldn't you be getting back to your friendth?" I nod towards their retreating forms. I'm eager to end the conversation just as much as I want to continue it.

Karkat follows my gaze, then shrugs.

"Everyone's just heading home. It rained last night so the court it full of puddles." Is he actually _trying_ to keep this conversation going? It's still pretty fucking weird that he wants to hold a conversation with _me_. Usually by this point, I've made some obscure reference, put people off with my lisp, or just bored them to death.

This is the longest I've spoken to someone that isn't family.

"Then thouldn't you be getting home as well?" He laughs again , and I'm entranced by the bouncing of his freckles while he does.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to get rid of me, Sollux!" I clear my throat awkwardly, slowly formulating a response.

"Um, well, I'm not really uthed to talking to people..." Jesus Christ, is there a reason I just told him that?

"Oh. Sorry." He smiles an apologetic grin. "But you won't learn unless you try, right?"

"I gueth." Oh god, he's laughing again, and that just makes me want to smile. Okay, you know what, despite my love of Shakespeare, love at first sight does _not_ exist, so why the hell do I feel like I've known this kid my entire life?

"Okay, this is probably going to sound really weird, since I don't know fuck about you, but do you want to go out?"

. . . .

Pardon me while my brain repieces itself after its explosion two seconds ago.

A kid, whom I only met yesterday thanks to a wayward-flying basketball, who has more freckles than I could ever hope to count, who has a smile that I swear is the most gorgeous thing on the planet, who has eyes that are almost silver, and who has a laugh that puts sunshine to shame, is asking me out. And I'm standing here like an idiot while he's waiting for an answer.

His grin doesn't falter, and sunlight catches his cheeks again, lighting up his freckly complexion as if to tell me _just say yes._

"Yeah, thure."

* * *

**A/N**: Do do do, writer's block is a bitch. I'm having a lot of trouble writing the next chapters for Charcoal and Scars, and Runners, and I'd been toying with this idea for a while, so to get out of my slump, I made myself write this.

Okay, before anyone says it: KK is OOC. I have a reason for this: The problem with a lot of writers making humanizations of the trolls is that they use JUST what Hussie gave them to work with, meaning KK is always an angry ball of swearing and cursing. What writers don't do is give a reason _why_. In the cannon story, half of its because of his blood color, and the other half is speculated to be because of the Sufferer, but in human AU's, you don't have either of those, meaning KK is just angry for the fuck of it. In Charcoal and Scars, I combated this with tortured back-story and traumatic experiences, but a lot of people leave something like that out, and I find it completely unrealistic for someone to be angry for the fuck of it all.  
I'm also a strong believer in the fact that KK would be a very happy child if he didn't have a bad past, blood color, or emotional leavings of his ancestor. If he had a good childhood, had good friends, sgrub didn't exist, and blood castes didn't exist, I think KK would be able to be a very enjoyable person to be around. That's why he's laughing and smiling all the time in this, because KK shouldn't always be forced to have a bad life, because KK doesn't deserve it. Just my opinion.

Yes, KK is also blonde. When humanized, a lot of people have Sollux as dirty blonde or light brunette, while KK has either dark brown hair, red or black (I've even seen someone draw him with silver hair; he looked like Soul Eater), but I found this one picture on Devientart with KK with blonde hair. I really liked this idea, and, after changing the shade so as not to be confused with Dave, just gave Sollux black hair, because I am a strong believer in black-haired Sollux.

On the subject of freckles: I. Love. FRECKLES. You have freckles, you have my immediate respect. If I'm ever going to date anyone, they have to have a fuckton of freckles, and that's that.  
Okay, as to why I gave them to KK? I have a headcannon. It hasn't been my headcannon for long. A couple weeks ago, I saw this one girl at the movie theater with freckles freaking EVERYWHERE, including her shoulders, and I really liked the idea. Of course, being me, I immediately though of how awesome KK would look with those kind of freckles, and this storyline was born.

Also, as to why basketball, I just needed Sollux to get hit in the head with something, and I don't like football, tennis=eh with the storyline, soccer would have been too complicated, and so forth. Also: KK looks dead gorgeous in a tanktop. You will never tell me otherwise.

The reason for Shakespeare: I love Shakespeare, I'm not even going to lie. Hamlet is my favorite play, Merchant of Venice a close second, and Love Labors Lost is up there in my favorites as well. If Sollux wasn't a computer nerd, I think he'd be a book nerd, and Shakespeare would be high on his list of favorite authors. I had KK like Love Labors Lost, because its a fucking romance, and I know its somewhat of a tragedy, but not so much as Hamlet, thus the reason for that bit in the conversation.

I think I covered everything. Thank you for reading this, and I hope I explained all my headcannons enough to make sense in the story!

Caio for now!

~Webs


	2. Stars

__**A/N**: Do you know how hard it is to type on while on an iPod? DON'T EVER DO IT.

The lyrics right below this belong to the band Fun., and are from their song "Stars", on the album _Some Nights. _I do not own them, but I do own the bit at the very end, no matter how much it may look like it belongs in the song XD

~Webs

* * *

_You're always holding onto stars. I think they're better from afar._

His drumming fingers make it hard to keep my eyes focused on my open history text book. His tapping foot distracts me from my note taking, and his easy breathing makes it impossible for me to pay any attention to studying.

And I don't mind in the least.

I glance up from the text book page, and see him steadily working. He's got his own homework in front of him, and he's scribbling notes like I should be, eyes darting between the two papers.

I nearly jump out of my skin when he looks up, and I immediately hide my gaze behind my bangs, but he just frowns and changes the song playing through the iPod laying in the table. I wonder briefly what he's listening to, but don't ask, because I don't want to be the one to break the muddled silence of the college library.

A quick glance at the beady-eyed librarian confirms my suspicion of her prowling the shelves, looking for any students come to use her precious books as hiding places to make out. You'd think people would be more mature in college, but no; they're pretty much the same kids KK and I graduated with.

I seem to have forgotten KK, who is the most distracting human being on the planet, for a moment, giving him time to successfully switch textbooks without my knowing. He now has his math book out, and is punching something into his calculator.

I watch his movements through the hair hanging down in my eyes, but still manage to miss his hand that's not holding his pencil reaching across the table, so nearly die of a heart attack when he tucks aforementioned hand under mine. I try not to start grinning when I look up at him, as not to give him the satisfaction of my surprise, but he has that crooked smile on his lips, and it's completely impossible for me not to smile back.

I force myself to return to my homework, as I have yet to complete any of it, but not before weaving my fingers through his. The corners of my mouth tug up again, relishing in the wonder that our hands fit perfectly together.

_A match made in heaven, _I muse for a second, then realize I sound like a girl and shake my head.

I hear KK shift in his seat across from me, and look up again. He's fidgeting with the hood of his sweatshirt thoughtfully, pondering the math problem before him. His silver eyes catch the bright lights of the library, casting their reflections like constellations within his irises. Every time he moves, the lights dance back and forth, and leave me completely entranced.

He looks up again to change to another song, and sees me looking, his slapdash grin coming back. His fingers squeeze mine, flipping our hands over so the lights now catch the matching gold bands that lie in our tangled appendages.

I find myself grinning again, watching the star-like lights reflect themselves into the carefully crafted metal, and squeeze back.

_I'm always holding onto stars, because they've never been better from afar. _

* * *

**A/N**: Just another one shot written to give me a push to write the next chapter for Runners, as I have been very lazy about updating it. I'm also trying to write the next chapter for Charcoal and Scars, and that's proving to be easier, but I lack any sort of motivation, thus this one shot.

This is kind of a companion piece to Freckles, as KK has the silver eyes from that fic rather than the red ones from Charcoal and Scars. Keep in mind they're in college now, and I have set this one about eight years after Freckles, so KK is twenty-four and Sollux is twenty-five. Big jump, eh?

This was entirely written on my iPod, so I know there are mistakes. Plus, I wrote it in about an hour, so it's rushed. Tell me where so I can eventually rewrite this! ^-^

I have to go do chores now, so big whoop. I'll try to get the next chapter for Runners up soon.

Caio for now!

~Webs


	3. Break-In

**A/N**: An I happy with this one shot? Not at all.

* * *

I'm awoken by KK's mumble into my collarbone.

"Sollux, I think there's someone in the house." Well, if its a murderer, they can just come up here and kill us, because I'm not getting out of bed.

Something crashes to the floor downstairs, and KK groans, shifting his position in my arms to flip over onto his back.

"Sollux, get the fuck up." I just grumble and tighten my arm around his waist, making him elicit a grumble of his own. "Get up, you lazy fuck." He shifts again, and I feel him reach over to the bedside table to turn on the light. I cringe back from the yellow light, and think maybe I _should _be concerned that there is someone else in our house.

KK groggily sits up, rubbing a hand over his face. I slowly follow suit, and he lightly smacks the top of my head, shooting a glare in my direction.

"What?" I growl, then see he's holding my 3D shades out to me. I wear them in front of everybody, a habit bred from bullying in my childhood, and KK was the first person besides my family that saw me without them. We're both rather protective of that fact, so I obediently put them on and swing my legs out of the plushie and oh-so-warm comforter to rest my bare feet on the cold floor. KK does the same, albeit a little slower, and I hear him searching for a pair of pants. KK, unlike me, prefers to sleep in just his boxers, so quickly locates a pair of jeans and tugs them on.

You'd think I would tell him to stay up here while I go see who's in our kitchen, but no; KK has a death-glare to send a serial killer running, so I let him follow me as I descend the wooden staircase down to the kitchen. At the bottom of the stairs is the door to said kitchen, and it's slightly ajar, letting light spill into the hallway. I slowly push it open, the door making a very loud creak and alerting whoever is in there to our presence.

You know, judging by our choice in friends, I should have known it would be Dave rooting through our fridge.

Aforementioned blonde looks up from his "rooting", sees us standing in the doorway and smirks.

"Don't you two look gorgeous." He eyes shirtless KK standing behind me, who gives him a taste if his death glare, and Dave immediately stops smirking.

I sigh, shaking my head.

"Dave, what the fuck are you doing here?" I demand, entering the kitchen as he grabs a container of left-over pizza from the fridge.

He sniffs at it suspiciously before answering.

"Egderp is having a pity-party with Jade over some breakup, so he kicked me out for the night." He turns around to lean against the counter, munching on the pizza.

KK joins me against the opposite counter, and I immediately loop my arm back around his waist.

"And you came _here_ because...?" KK asks annoyedly.

"You're the only guys who have Belagio's pizza." Okay, granted Belagio's _is _the best pizza on the planet, but Dave usually steers clear of KK, especially a sleepy one.

"Dave," I sigh again, desperately wanting to return to the warm comforts of my bed. "do you plan on thtaying the whole night?" He shrugs, and says

"I guess," around a mouthful of pizza.

"Then the couch it ith." I turn to KK, who looks exhausted, silver eyes lacking any kind of their usual luster. "I'll get the athhole some blanketh. Go on up." I nod to the stairs and kiss the tip of his freckled nose.

Dave makes a gagging noise, but KK still leans in to kiss me back before flipping off our unwanted guest and leaving the room. I wait until I hear our bedroom door close again to lead Dave into the hallway, where there's a drawer of extra blankets and sheets. He follows me into the small living room and watches me as I fit a sheet around the cushions.

"Okay, I lied." I look up at Dave in surprise. "Egderp didn't kick me out 'cause of Jade." I don't know where he's going with this, so I slowly resume fitting a pillowcase on a spare pillow.

"Then why'd he kick you out?" He shrugs in his nonchalant, Strider way.

"He wanted me to check up on you two." I stop what I'm doing to give him my full attention, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Check up on uth? Why?"

"We haven't heard from you two in a while. John was worried you had a falling out or something." I snort, thankful John is just being a paranoid idiot. I see Dave smile, chuckling. "I can see you guys are doing just fine." I toss the pillow at him and straighten, smiling as well.

"Well, you're thtill welcome to thtay the night."

"How generous." He rolls his eyes as I walk past him, and I flick his forehead for good measure.

I hear him turn off the living room light as I walk quietly back up the stairs, and shake my head. I know better than to ask how he got in; he'll just try to tell me he climbed through the window, or picked the lock on the front door, or maybe that he has Strider apparation abilities or something.

When I open the door to our room, KK is already asleep again, his messy gold-blonde hair sticking out of the top of the comforter. I smile, taking off my shades to slip back under the covers, and snuggle in next to KK's sleeping form. He mumbles something as I hug him close to my chest, but does not wake. Instead, he nuzzles in closer, making me wonder if it's even _possible_ for us to have a falling out. Despite a few normal squabbles, our six year marriage has been bump-free and near-perfect.

This thought reminds me how often John jumps to conclusions.

I push Dave's words aside and let myself relax, allowing KK's steady breathing to lull me back to sleep, praying to god Dave will be gone by the time I wake up.

* * *

**A/N**: Ooh look, another one shot.

Someone requested more freckly, silver-eyed Karkat, and I'm being a lazy fuck about updating the two multi-chapters I have going, so I present to you a snippet of KK and Sollux's after-college life. In this, they've been married six years, meaning Sollux is twenty-seven, and KK is twenty-six. My head cannon for this story is that they get married when KK is twenty and Sollux is twenty-on. Make sense?

I don't know what I wanted to do with this one shot, since I only had the first bit in my head because of a half-asleep dream I had last night. If this seems rambling, that's because it is.

Ha ha, yes JohnDave is alright in my books. Out of the kids, they fit together best, so here you are.

Okay, this was once again written on my iPod, so if you find any mistakes, tell me! And I'll try to get a chapter for either Runners or Charcoal and Scars up soon -_-'

Caio for now!

~Webs


	4. Constellation Counting

**A/N**: Alternate Title: Anniversary.

Motivation for Runners and Charcoal & Scars is at sub zero, so have another one shot.

NOTE: If you have not read my other fiction Freckles, I suggest you do. The characters make references to the happenings in that story, so I highly suggest going there first, but it is not necessary.

WARNING: Kinda super fluffy, and nothing important can be gleaned from this, other than I ship KanRose.

Oh, and apparently, I've been spelling Caio wrong. It's ciao XD

~Webs

* * *

A sleeping KK is the cutest fucking thing on the planet.

His eyelids are closed gently, his soft breathing the only sound he makes as he lays on his side, facing me. I have my arm hooked around his waist, the warm touch if his bare skin against mine a sign of our intimacy. Though I'm not touching it, his gold-blonde hair is softer than rabbit's fur, and it folds over his forehead like wind-swept grass.

Whenever I wake before he does, I try to count the constellations of freckles on his face, but I can never come close, so try to count the ones on his shoulders, though I know I won't be able to before he starts stirring.

A light smile finds its way to my lips as KK shifts a little bit, his platinum-silver eyes parting to the dull sunlight of the May morning.

Of course, this isn't just any May morning.

"Happy anniverthary, KK." His lopsided grin reveals itself sleepily as he mumbles

"Happy anniversary, Sollux." Seven years ago today, we both took a trip down the aisle and never looked back. Seven years ago today, I kissed KK and vowed to never let him go.

And to hell with me if I ever do.

With no intention to ever let this man out of my sight, my hand finds his cheek and tugs his chin up so I can enjoy an anniversary kiss with my husband. Damn, he tastes like cherries and rain; he always has. It's kind of weird, but he wouldn't be KK without it, so I smile against his lips and card my fingers into his hair while his hand lightly grips my wrist.

I don't push away for several, long moments, and only do so because my phone starts ringing on my bedside table. I still don't break away though, not until I have to use my mouth for other things, such as answering the phone with a snarky

"Hello, Dave. How nithe of you to call me so early in the morning."

_"Ooh, I'm not interrupting anything frisky, am I?"_ I snort, shaking my head.

"Pervert."

_"Oi, Watch it nerd-boy. Anyway, John just wanted me to tell you guys Kanaya and Rose are hosting some kind of party tonight."_ I don't say anything as Dave starts listing instructions, mostly concerning the need to bring an appatizer dish. I watch as KK flips over onto his stomach and tucks his arms under his pillow. He turns his head back towards me, listening the faint whine of Dave's voice over the phone. _"So, can you guys make it?"_ I give KK a meaningful look, and he rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, but we might be a little late."

_"Why?"_ I start running my fingers through KK's hair again, and he softly closes his eyes, relaxing at my touch.

"Dave, it'th May twenty-fifth."

_"And that's important becaaaaause? Oh wait. Isn't that the day you two got hitched?"_ I chuckle.

"Yeah, tho we're going to be buthy. We'll try to make it though." I can almost _hear_ his smirk.

_"Right. Good luck with fucking your-"_ I hang up before Dave can get any further. I think KK may have fallen asleep again, but a tired mumble alerts me to his consciousness.

"What time's the party at?"

"Dave thaid it thtartth at theven. I told him we'd probably be late."

"Mm." He keeps his eyes closed as I continue to mess with his hair. He looks so tired...

I decide to let him sleep some more, but I'm wide awake. I raise myself from the bed slowly so as not to disturb him and quietly make my way down to the kitchen, where a steaming pot of coffee is waiting for me. Once I have a hot mug in my hands, I find my book of Shakespeare's plays on the bookshelf in the living room and settle onto the couch to read Merchant of Venice, which has become a tradition for me. After all, I was reading it when I first met KK.

I'm almost done with the play and on my third cup of coffee when KK finally comes downstairs, still blurry-eyed and shirtless.

We don't say anything as he joins me on the couch, but I shift to give him room to curl up next to me. He yawns, tucking his knees up to his chest. I gladly hand him my more-than-half-full mug when he mumbles for it, letting my now-free hand settle onto his hip. He gives a soft chirp in response, leaning his head into my shoulder.

"Whatcha reading?" He murmurs over the lip of the mug.

"Merchant of Venithe." I see him smile at that out of the corner of my eye, and smile too, returning to my reading.

Now, you may ask why I'm not giving my full attention to my husband on our anniversary, and it's a valid question to say the least, but KK and I had decided very early on that we weren't going to do cheesy crap for anniversaries. If it happens to fall on a weekday, we both skip work to spend the day together (like today), but we don't get each other gifts or anything; we make each other lunch and call it good.

"So what's this party Rose has going on?" I shrug, not moving my eyes from the page.

"I dunno. Dave jutht thaid they were in the mood for a party."

"Highly suspicious, considering what day it is."

"Yeah, Dave told me to warn you KN might make you try on thuitth."

"If she's making _me_ try on stuff, she's sure as hell going to make you try stuff on too." I snort.

"Bite me."

"Mm, maybe later." He smirks as he takes another sip from his mug. I smirk back and lean in to kiss him below the ear.

"We thould leave around thix-thirty if we want to make it to KN'th on time." I tell him as I return to my book.

"Hm, that gives us five hours." He drains the mug and stands up, stretching. "How much more you got to the play?"

"One more act."

"Then I call dibs on the shower." He leaves before I can argue, setting the mug on the armrest of the couch.

I sigh and shake my head before returning to finish the final act.

* * *

I'm just at the part where Lorenzo and Jessica are promised Shylock's money when KK hugs me from behind, with his hair sopping wet and with a towel wrapped around his neck. He rests his chin on my head, arms draped over my shoulders.

"Shower's free." He mumbles.

"Mm, I'm almotht done."

"Get your ass off the couch and go shower. You've read that thing twenty times."

"I've only read it nineteen timeth." He snorts, and I can almost _feel_ him rolling his eyes.

"Wouldn't that make this your twentieth time?"

". . . Yeth."

"Case and point. You can finish it later, but we only have four hours, and you take longer than I do to shower." I flip him off over my shoulder, finishing the page before getting to my feet. KK hops over the back of the couch to steal my spot, snatching the book from my hands and opening it to Love Labors Lost. I chuckle, ruffling his hair as I leave the room.

I shower quickly, just to prove I can, and dress is black jeans and a comfortable long-sleeved shirt; May is still chilly here, and the weather won't warm until mid-way through June.

After I've brushed my teeth and combed my rat nest of hair into something presentable, I wander back downstairs, where KK is laying on the couch with one leg crossed over the other in the air, reading the book propped up on his chest. I choose another one of my favorite books off the shelf (the Odyssey) and go back to the couch, where I shift KK's head into my lap so I can sit against one of the armrests. He makes no protest other than to fidget for a second to get comfortable, then we elapse back into silence.

Other couples can keep their romantic dinners and beach trips; reading on the couch with the love of my life is quite fine with me.

We sit there for a good two and a half hours, and I had not been intending to move until it was time to go, but my jerk of a best friend decides to interrupt our silence by slamming open our front door.

I will never figure out how he manages to open the door without a key.

"Hey nerd-boys!" Dave shouts from the hallway, clearly unaware of our presence in the living room. "If you two don't get your asses out of bed right now-" He walks into the room and stops shouting, seeing the two of us on the couch glaring at him.

"Tho nithe to thee you, Dave."

"Perhaps a knock on the front door would have sufficed?" Dave continues to watch us after our rude remarks with what could be surprise, if he hadn't been raised by the least-emotional bastard on the planet.

"When you said you were going to be _busy_, I didn't realize you meant lazying around on the couch with a _book_." Dave says the word 'book' as if it's going turn around and bite him if it leaves his lips. Ooh, funny mental image.

"What else would we be doing, fuck ass?" I manage to see Dave roll his eyes behind his dark shades as he leans against the door jamb.

"What everyone _else_ would be doing on their anniversary: fucking each-" My hard-back copy of the Odyssey collides with his face, effectively silencing him. If it had been my worn, old copy of Shakespeare, I wouldn't have thrown it, but I have no qualms with chucking the Odyssey at him. That thing is like a fucking brick.

"Jutht thut your perverted mouth, Thtrider. What'th it to you what we do?" KK, completely unfazed by my violent silencing, returns to his play.

"Jesus Christ, Captor!" Dave messages his nose, picking his shades up off of the ground. "John just sent me over to make sure you guys are actually there for the party!"

"Why? They're throwing a party every other week these days." KK says, still reading.

"Because you guys _never_ come, that's why. You two are the biggest introverts the planet has ever seen." I catch the book thrown back at me easily, and flip it back open to where I left off. "Seriously, Vantas. _You_ used to be fun, always playing basketball with us, but now all you seem to be interested in is books."

"I've always been interested in books." He mumbles, no longer interested in this conversation in the least.

"See what you've done to him, Captor? You've turned him into a nerd."

"Oh? Well I heard from KN that you have an interetht in _clathical_ music now that you've been together with John." I smirk at the surprised slip in Dave's facade, and know I've won the argument.

He sighs, shrugging as nonchalantly as possible.

"Fine, fine. Just make sure you're both at Kanaya's at seven. She has sizing or whatever to do." KK and I groan in unison, earning a snicker from Dave. _All_ of our friends know that once you're sized (which takes surprisingly little time), you aren't allowed to leave KN's house until she's finished whatever it is she's working on.

Meaning: it could take all night.

"Jethuth Chritht, we'll be there, Dave. Now get the fuck out of our houthe."

"Geeze, you're so demanding." He complains, but turns around all the same, closing the living room door behind him. KK and I remain silent, even after we hear Dave's ironically boring Buick driving away.

KK shifts uncomfortably, grumbling something incoherent.

"We could jutht thtay home." I offer, closing my book.

"Nah, Kanaya will kill us if we don't show up. I just don't want to be there the whole night." I smile, leaning down to press my nose to his.

"Me neither. We have work tomorrow; we're going to have to get up early." He snorts, sticking out his tongue.

"Bite me."

"Hm, that can be arranged." I kiss him before he can say anything else, and as long as KK is there to distract me, I don't mind going to Kanaya's in the least.

Plus, KK looks dead sexy in suits.

* * *

**A/N**: As stated before, I have less-than-no motivation right now for two reasons. One: Writers Block as hit me something terrible with those two fics. Two: I'm kind of in love with _this_ version of SolKat. I'm having trouble getting back into blue-haired and red-haired KK mode, so here's some blonde-haired KK -_-'

Blue, I will get to you prompt as soon as possible. I already have some of it written! ^-^

So, on the subject of prompts, I plan to write more one shots for this particular version of SolKat, so if you guys have, like, a one sentence or word prompt, I'd be more than happy to give it a shot with a one shot! (Whoops, that sounds redundant.) I won't get to all of them, but I'll try, because I think you guys deserve a reward for supporting me so much! ^-^

I _will_ try to get a chapter for either Runners or C&S up soon, but I can't make promises, because I start school tomorrow, and I have done literally none of my homework assigned over break.

Tell me if you find any mistakes, because I have been laptop-free for about a week now! I really love you all for your reviews and support. They mean the world to me :}D (Wow, that looks like a creepy mustache-man -_-)

Ciao (I spelled it right!) for now,

~Webs


	5. Breathe (Ceremonials)

**A/N**: Have another one shot.

This is now part of a series I'm labeling "Of Freckles and Silver". Freckles, Stars, Break-In and Constellation Counting are all included in this series as well, and I will probably compile them into one post, as different chapters.

Ciao for now!

~Webs

* * *

_Breathe. Just breathe, Sollux. That's right: inhale, exhale. Inhale exhale. Just... breathe. _I repeat this mantra to myself, over, and over, and over, and over again as I look at myself in the mirror. _Just keep breathing and don't think about it._  
A black suit, a silver bow tie, a white flower in my lapel.  
Holy shit, I'm hyperventilating again! _No, no. Just breathe. Breathing is good, right Sollux? Breathing helps calm nerves, and settles upset stomachs, and_- Aw, who the fuck am I kidding? I'm kind of flipping the fuck out.  
_Sollux, you have _got_ to get a hold of yourself. Flipping the fuck out never saved anyone, and it sure as hell won't save you now._  
I mentally slap myself, leaning my hands on the edge of the sink. Having arguments with yourself probably won't save you either.  
_Well, forgive _me _if I was trying to help! If anyone sees you in this state, _you _flipping the fuck out is going to be the least of our worries!_  
"Yep, there'th definitely thomething wrong with me." I splash cold water on my face to try to calm myself down, but of course it just makes me more jumpy and nervous and terrified and-  
_For heaven's sake BREATHE!_  
This time, I listen to the little, loud voice in the back of my mind, which sounds kind of like a very whiney kid-version of me, and inhale slowly, holding the air in my chest for a moment before letting it out.  
I pride myself in not being easily scared, but right now, I'm downright _terrified, _and I honestly don't know how to deal with that. Actually, at this current point in time, I don't know how to deal with _anything_. Everything seems like it's going to hell, but I know it isn't, and my heart is racing like I just ran a marathon, and I'm still flipping the fuck out, and-  
"Sollux?" What was I freaking out about again?  
I turn and see KK peaking around the door to the overly-fancy bathroom I'm currently standing in. He's paler than I've ever seen him, but he looks exceedingly relieved to see me. "Um, can I come in?" I nod, suddenly much calmer than I was five seconds ago.  
KK slowly enters the bathroom and joins me in front of the marble-topped sink, and I can see him visibly trembling. I automatically reach for his hand, lacing my fingers through his; I think I need his support right now as much as he seems to need mine.  
I force a smile though, hoping to reassure him. "Ithn't it bad luck to thee each other before the theremony?" He gives a shaky laugh, though his slapdash smile seems sincere.  
"That only works if one of us is wearing a dress, dumbass. Does it look like I'm wearing a dress?" Far from it: Kanaya made both our suits, and KK's looks about as far away from a dress as you can get.  
Kanaya, claiming it would bring out his eyes, had accented KK's tux with a deep-burgundy red vest, a matching tie, and had even made the back into a tailcoat. Mine is basically a mirror image of his, except instead of red, Kanaya assigned me dark blue (save for the silver bow tie), and the tail is a bit longer.  
I had managed to tame my hair a little bit, but it looks like KK was far from achieving that: his gold-blonde locks are just as wild as always, perhaps a bit _too _wild for the occasion, but I'm glad they are, because the sight of something familiar really helps with the nerves.  
"So, we're really going through with this." I stroke my thumb across the back of his hand in soothing circles.  
"Yeah, I gueth we are..." _Breathe, Sollux, or do you _want _to have a mental break-down in front of KK?_  
"Um, I'm kind of deadpanning..." I sidle over next to him where he's leaning against the counter.  
"Me too." I murmur, afraid that my normal voice will forsake me for a trembling one.  
KK laughs again, though his lips betray his anxiety, and the only color on his face seems to be his freckles. Somehow, he still manages to be the most attractive thing I've ever seen, and maybe that's why we're sanding here in the first place: 'Cause I'm a selfish bastard who doesn't want to share KK with anyone else.  
That thought brings a smile to my face, and I lean over to nuzzle my nose into his hair, just above his ear. I can almost feel the tension drain from his shoulders as he turns his head to meet my eyes, his lopsided-grin back on his lips. Ooh, is he taunting me?  
Just as I'm about to kiss him, Dave shouts "Hey lovebirds!" loudly from the other room. KK and I look away from each other, blushing like teenagers just caught sneaking out of class. Actually, that's happened more than once.  
Dave opens the bathroom door, dressed in a very suave black suit, and ignores both of our flushed faces to toss a rose at KK, who has yet to put one in his lapel.  
"You two done romancing each other? 'Cause it's time." I clear my throat before answering.  
"Y-Yeah, we'll be there in a minute." Dave nods, then leaves again and I don't move until I hear the outer door close behind him.  
KK let's out another shaky breath, straightening and tucking the stem if the rose into his top button hole before turning to face me. I straighten as well, and nearly have a heart attack when he reaches up to straighten my bow tie. Once he's completed that, he meets my gaze, smiling softly.  
"You ready?" He murmurs. I smile back, nerves rising again.  
"Yeah." His smile explodes into a full-blown grin, his real character showing through.  
"Then let's get hitched."  
_Just... breathe._

* * *

A/N: Sorry for slow updates on my multi chapter projects. I'll really try to update them soon.

So um, not much to say about this one. This is before their wedding (obviously), and takes place after "Freckles", but before "Stars". KK is... Twenty, I think I decided, and Sollux would be too, since this takes place on May 25th, and Sollux's birthday isn't until May 30th (I have his birthday as May 26th in Charcoal and Scars, but changed it for this because who gets married the day before their birthday?)

If you find mistakes, or don't like something, tell me where and why and I'll look over it! ^-^

I think I'm done.

Ciao for now!

~Webs


	6. When Stars Go Dim

Karkat has this light, this radiance about him, like everywhere he walks is automatically brighter, and I told myself I would _kill _if that light was taken away.

But when it starts slipping away, I find I don't know what to do.

It's nearing midnight when I get the call from Karkat. I'm in the middle of reading Othello, so it takes me a second to tear myself away and look at the caller ID.

I frown, answering suspiciously. KK, no matter how late he may stay up, never calls me until morning.

"KK?" A choked sob is my only greeting. Terror seizes me and I bolt upright, knocking my book to the floor. "KK, what'th going on?!"

"H-Hey, Soll." Why is he trying to sound like he's okay?

"KK, are you alright? Are you hurt, are you lotht, are you-"

"I'm fine." He interrupts, but I know he's not.

"KK-"

"C-Can you just come over?" He sounds so utterly defeated, I'm already yanking on street clothes and shoving my feet into my converse.

"I'm on my way." I grab my keys and am out my front door when KK says

"Hey, Soll?" I pause half-way into my rusty Chevy, only one foot actually in the car.

"Yeah?"

"Please hurry." I furrow my eyebrows and bite my lip.

"I'll be over in jutht a minute."

* * *

Dear god, I almost have a heart attack when I pull up into Karkat's driveway and find a police car parked outside his house. Its flashing lights are blinding, and I see an officer walking out through the front door.

He nods to me as I hurry past him into the house, and I see with relief that KK's dad, Carmine, is there, sitting at the kitchen table with his back towards me. But something's wrong, as if the policeman wasn't proof of that. Carmine has his face buried in his hands, his shoulders shaking with sobs, and he doesn't respond when I say his name.

I'm about to reach out to him when I hear something move upstairs, and jerk my attention upwards. I cast another glance at Carmine before cautiously padding up the rickety staircase to Karkat's room, which takes up the entire second floor.

I knock softly against the worn, white wood door, gaining no answer.

"KK?" Nothing but a sob alerting me to the room's occupant.

I slowly open the door so as not to startle him, and find the room completely dark. All the lamps are off and the curtains are shut against any streetlights outside. "KK?" I look around the door and find the boy I'm looking for, huddled against the empty wall that stretches from the door jamb to his bedside table. He looks up at me in surprise, his eyes wide and terrified. They hold none of their usual shine, only glossy because of his tears. They look... dead.

"Sollux." His voice is unbearably hoarse, and tears track vicious rivers through his freckles like a current over stones. How long has he been like this?

Before I even know what I'm doing, I'm on my knees and hugging him, holding him as close to me as I possibly can. It takes him a second, but then he returns it, his nose tightly tucked into my shoulder.

I let him cry into my shirt, thoughts muddled as to what's going on. In the short two years I've known him, he hasn't cried once; he hasn't _needed _to cry. Hell, he has the nicest parents in the world, he's a right fucking genius with a full scholarship to his first-choice college, has had the same boyfriend for two years, his dad is a famous violinist and his mom-

Holy shit, his mom. Where is she? I hadn't seen her downstairs...

I shift position so I'm no longer kneeling, and Karkat is now tucked against my chest sideways, allowing me to lean a shoulder against the wall. He refuses to loosen the grip his fists have on my jacket, and I do nothing to remove them. "KK, where... Where'th Litha?" His grip does nothing but tighten, and my stomach drops to my feet. "Oh my gog, KK..." I burry my face into his gold hair, fighting back tears of my own.

Lisa was the kindest fucking woman on the planet, and probably the best cook too. She could quote Shakespeare like it was a second language, and she and I would have deep, analytical conversations about the differences between Hamlet and Iago over ice cream. The very first thing she did after her son confessed to being gay was take him to the nicest restaurant in town and buy him anything he wanted.

"Wh..." I fumble, forcing back the lump in my throat. "What happened?"

"S-Some drunk r-ran a red light," He begins shakily, words muffled. "and she didn't have time to m-move. By the time the paramedics g-got there, she was... she was..." I shush him, and start running my fingers through his hair soothingly and kiss his forhead gently, though I'm far from calm.

It isn't long before I feel my own eyes grow damp, tears sliding off my nose and taking my shades with them, little by little. Eventually, I just take them off completely, setting them next to where KK's phone sits on the faded carpet. KK's already seen me without them, and he's showing me a side of him I didn't know he had, so I don't bother with the hindrance that puts a barrier between us.

We sit there the entire night, and don't move even when when gray sunshine peeks through the curtains. If anyone thinks we're going to school today, they can go fuck themselves.

KK had stopped crying about an hour earlier, and now he just sits in my lap, facing the wall with me angled sideways. His forehead is pressed to the side of my neck and I have my arms wrapped around his waist, holding his slumped form against me. He's completely still, but I know he isn't sleeping.

When the morning sunshine reaches a gold glow, I turn my head to look into his eyes, and find his silver gaze locked on the white plaster wall. His cheeks are grimy, but that's not what wrenches my heart from my chest.

It's his eyes; they're no longer stars that light whatever they look upon. They're gray, dull, lackluster.

He flickers his flat gaze to mine, and he doesn't even try to smile. It leaves me utterly broken.

My stars have gone out and I don't know know if I can get them back. My stars are dead.

* * *

A/N: Well, I feel freaking depressed now.

Okay, I wrote this because I couldn't get the image of Sollux holding KK out of my head. This is also obviously part of "Of Freckles and Silver". It is the first sad one, and probably the last, because I can't stand making blonde-KK sad. I just can't.

Don't the names Carmine and Lisa go well together? I think they do.

This one takes place when KK is eighteen, and Sollux is nineteen. Sollux has already moved into his own place at this point, but KK still has to finish up his senior year and is still living with his parents. This takes place after Freckles, but before the others.

Okays, I think I'm done now. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR GUY'S SUPPORT ON THIS SERIES! I'll try to get around to putting it in one story, as well as updating Runners and C&S. I'm slowly but surely working on the next chapters. Slowly... but surely.

Ciao for now!

~Webs


	7. In the Bliss of Stars

**A/N**: Part of the series "Of Freckles and Silver". You don't have to read the former ones first, but "Freckles" kind of explains the beginning of their relationship.

I think that's all I have for up here.

Ciao for now!

~Webs

* * *

Warmth. That's what I wake to. Blissful, unbearable, _glorious_ warmth.

I can feel the heat snuggled up next to me, something gripping the hand that rests on my hip as if it were a lifeline, and something tucked under my chin that is so unbelievably soft, I think I'm still dreaming. I only vaguely realize the heat wavers, as if trembling, and just try to reclaim the peaceful state of sleep I was in before; I haven't slept in a few days thanks to my incessant need to read all three Lord of the Rings in one go.

It isn't until I feel something press into my collarbone that I force myself from the groggy throes of my more-than-half-asleep daze and open my eyes to the pitch-black of my dorm room. Everything is quiet except for my breathing; I don't hear any sound from KK's bed across the room behind me. We've been sharing a dorm for a good year and a half, and I've grown quite accustomed to KK's easy breathing while he sleeps, his mumbled sighs when he wakes slightly, his groans when his alarm clock starts blaring at six.

But I don't hear a fucking thing, and terror seizes me for a second. I'm about to rip off my blankets to check on him when my attention is brought back to the warmth that has yet to leave my side.

I try not to move as I look down, and honestly, I shouldn't be surprised to see my blonde-boyfriend curled up next to me. Who else could it have been?

My heart leaps into my mouth in surprise at the intimate contact, and my heart rate picks up ten notches. KK, sweet, _innocent_ KK, is falling asleep on my overturned shoulder, freckled face resting gently against my skin as if we've been doing this since day one.

We have certainly _not_ been doing this from day one. KK has always been adamant about little-to-no physical contact (though apparently kissing me doesn't apply), and usually draws the line at hand-holding. I've never pushed my luck, because it's so adorable when he says he isn't comfortable with my hand on his waist yet, and because I respect that. I don't ever want to make him go faster than he's ready for.

So why in the everloving _fuck_ did he just climb in bed with me?

My mind starts conjuring up scenarios like a blizzard and does nothing to help calm my heart. Maybe he isn't completely awake? Maybe he's playing with me? Maybe he got up to go to the bathroom, and just chose my bed by mistake? Maybe-

"Sollux, for the love of all things holy, stop reading into this and go back to sleep." Sometimes it's a kick in the gut to know how well _KK_ knows me. Can't I have a silent panic attack in peace without him completely ruining it with reading my mind?

I choose this moment to completely nestle my nose into his rabbit-soft hair, hiding my grin in his gold locks for the first in a long line of nights spent with my arms around KK, and him uncomfortable no more.

Thus marked the second beginning of our relationship, much to Eridan's chagrin.

* * *

**A/N**: He he, I'm sorry. I know I should be writing for Runners and Charcoal & Scars, but in my defense, most of this was already written. It's been sitting on my iPod for about two weeks now, just waiting to be edited, so I have done that on my laptop (Praise the Lords that be that I have it today).

I dunno if I'm going to go too much into the Eridan bit. I have a whole story behind it, but I decided that Of Freckles and Silver would not be angsty, and writing up the Eridan bit would make it angsty. So no. I will not explain the Eridan bit (maybe).

Okay, timeline: When Stars go Dim was when KK was eighteen, just before he graduated high school, and I said in this that they've been sharing a dorm for a year and a half, so KK is... just over twenty. Jesus, this is just before Sollux proposes :/ Did I say KK was twenty or twenty-one when they had their wedding? I don't remember -_-'

Thank you all for your support on my series! I really, really, _really_ appreciate it! Though this is just a oneshot, so there's no reason to follow XD Oh, sorry for how short it is. This barely counts as a snippet, but it'll have to do.

EDIT: I should probably make the master doc for all of these stories, huh? I'll go do that now -_-'

Ciao for now!

~Webs


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